Murray Hall-Jones and Tim Saulez sparkle as Michaelhouse and Clifton win
Murray Hall-Jones scored a fluent half-century to set Michaelhouse up for a 122-run win over St David’s Marist Inanda in their Oppenheimer Michaelmas Cricket Week match at Michaelhouse on Sunday, while, in Pietermaritzburg, Clifton College overcame St John’s College by six wickets.
The two matches were supposed to be played over 50 overs, but they were reduced to 40 overs a side after wintry and wet weather prevented play on Saturday and affected the playing surfaces of the venues, resulting in delayed starts on Sunday.
Hall-Jones creamed seven fours and a single six on his way to a 51-ball 57, which helped boost Michaelhouse to a total of 258/8 on the Roy Gathorne Oval in Balgowan.
The number three batsman was the match’s leading scorer, with no one else managing more than 40. Morteza Manack’s 37 was the highest individual score for St David’s, who were bowled out for 136 in 33 overs.
Hall-Jones arrived at the crease after Michael Spencer and Sebastien Hofmeyr gave the home side a 42-run start. His second-wicket stand with Hofmeyr lasted only 3.4 overs, with Hofmeyr’s departure bringing Dylan Hewlett out to the middle. The pair, then, shared a 48-run third wicket stand that set Michaelhouse on course for a match-winning total.
The home side could have reached a more imposing score had they not lost wickets at regular intervals. On the other hand, St David’s could have given themselves a better shot at victory had they not conceded 26 extras. Kyle Buttler was the biggest offender with two wides and nine no-balls. Keamogelo Phiri also conceded nine wides.
Shaiyen Desai was St David’s most successful bowler with two wickets for 36 runs from eight overs.
Chasing 259 for victory, St David’s lost their first wicket in the sixth over and never quite recovered from that blow. The stop-start nature of their innings meant that they were unable to build the momentum they needed to wrestle control from the hosts.
Ross Moller led Michaelhouse’s bowling effort with three wickets for 14 runs in seven overs. Radhesh Jhilmeet also snapped up three wickets but conceded 26 runs from his five overs. Ethan Muir bagged a brace, and Jean-Luc Rey and Sebastien Hofmeyer claimed a wicket each.
At UKZN, in Pietermaritzburg, Tim Saulez scored a masterful half-century as he masterminded Clifton’s successful run chase in their match against St John’s College. When he arrived at the crease, Clifton was on 61/3, chasing the Johannesburg school’s total of 183. Before him, Hayden Drieselmann had scored a well-paced 44 off 48 to kick off his side’s successful batting effort.
Byron Ward (5) and Shahzaad Perumal (12) failed to settle in and the responsibility of seeing Clifton home fell to Saulez, who carved a brilliant unbeaten 80 off of 68 deliveries, and Zach Williamson, who weighed in with an unbeaten 26.
The St John’s total of 183 came courtesy of a valiant one-man fightback from Joe MacRobert. The 18-year-old scored an outstanding 70 off 63 but received little support from his teammates. Alec Loveland‘s 25 was their next-best effort.
Clifton’s Shahzaad Perumal was the most successful bowler of the contest, snaring four wickets for 31 runs from eight overs. He was well supported by Saulez, who bagged a brace, while Regan Radley, Zach Williamson, and Shiraz Perumal removed a batsman each.
Summarised Scorecards
Michaelhouse 258/8 (Murray Hall-Jones 57, Sebastien Hofmeyer 32; Shaiyen Desai 2/36, Morteza Manack 1/34) St David’s 136/10 (Morteza Manack 37, Samrat Basu 24; Ross Moller 3/14, Radhesh Jhilmeet 3/26) Michaelhouse won by 122 runs.
St John’s 183/10 (Joe Macrobert 70, Alec Loveland 25; Shahzaad Perumal 4/31, Tim Saulez 2/20) Clifton 184/4 (Tim Saulez 80*, Hayden Drieselmann 44; Kago Masote 2/36, Cole Francis 1/15) Clifton won by 6 wickets.
